Our class with school supplies ready to be shipped out to Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy of Liisa Temple)

Well, that’s it. Today was the last official meeting for “Social Media, Social Change: One Pencil Can Help Bring Peace”; we certainly brought change. At the close of the class Senior Master Sergeant Rex Temple reiterated his thanks, while I held back a couple of tears, for what we had done for the charity throughout the semester; he also reiterated the important life lessons we can now take away with us.

I can truly say that I will notice this course missing from my daily activity and my remaining semesters to come. During this class I felt that I, Zoe Stiling, had more purpose as a person. My life meant more because I was creating change in so many different tiers of my community and people were reliant upon my failure and success.

Looking back, now, I had so many magnificent, monumental moments in this course. My first blog was my best and it got noticed; a feeling of praise. I received a comment about one of my blog entries from a soldier who had read what I had to say; a feeling of unity. I got to speak on the radio about why this cause was important; a feeling of humanity. I appeared in two newspaper interviews on campus; a feeling of importance. I made an announcement on the Honors College Newsletter; a feeling of satisfaction. I began to visit my old high school weekly; a feeling of nostalgia. I made a concrete decision about where my career path is headed, a feeling of assurance. I was changed by a trip to MacDill Air Force Base; a feeling of gratefulness. I was changed by the students I met in my class, a feeling of friendship. I am changed because of this class.

Upon each of our reflections at the end of this last class session, there was a consensus about the major effect of this courses ability to push all of us outside our normal comfort bubbles. I expressed a similar feeling describing that what I will miss most about this course is the feeling. The feeling of having purpose; the ability to brag a little about what good I am able to do this semester because of this opportunity; the Feeling that each morning I am not waking up to go to school for only Zoe, study for only Zoe, and graduate for only Zoe.

In regards to our social media use I will miss having an important voice and purposefulness of posting pertinent information relative to today’s world. I know such acts were noticed because friends contacted me praising my activeness, my drive, and my ambition to go above and beyond. I do not want this to just go away. So, I have vowed to myself that I do not have to stop. I am now going to use my own personal WordPress account to keep blogging. I am now promising myself to go ahead and post news pieces I find relevant and interesting to Facebook regardless of it not being required. I am still going to be advocate for “Social Media, Social Change” as everyone should.

Reading from the beginning of our course blog it is clear the roller coaster of events and emotions our class experienced. We really did begin in our own stubborn, pessimistic little bubbles. Usually, the goal of blowing bubbles is to protect it from any outside harm; I guess you could say that our class is now “anti-bubble”….

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About Zoe Stiling

Hi! I am currently a junior at the University of South Florida. I am majoring in English with a concentration in technical and professional writing with a minor in political science. I am entering the world of Wordpress for a class course and charitable cause “One Pencil Can Help Bring Peace”. I am on the USF rowing team and apart of the USF honors college. I am a first generation American of English decent and love to travel. For fun I enjoy reading, running and spending time with my friends and family. My current goal is to maintain my GPA and hard work ethic to prepare for acceptance into graduate school.